Billie stepped back and cleared her throat. “The cut sits beautifully on you.” She moved behind Debra again, checking the fit across her back and the line of her sleeve. “Clothing teaches you how to hold yourself. How to remember you’re still here.”
“I see.” Debra met Billie’s eyes in the mirror again. “You’re very good at your job.”
“Thank you.” The tape measure stilled in Billie’s hands. “This tone pulls the light towards you. It brings your eyes forward. You wear it well.”
Debra smiled faintly. “You always know what to say.”
“That’s my job.”
Debra wasn’t sureanyonewas this committed to their job. “It’s more than that.”
Billie looked away. “Maybe once.”
The silence settled again, broken only by the sound of the bell jingling outside on the main floor.
“Turn for me and hop up onto the platform. Let’s check the hem of the jacket and the pants.”
As Debra stepped onto the platform, Billie crouched to adjust the length, her fingers brushing the fabric near Debra’s ankles. The touch sent an exquisite heat spiralling through her. She stared down at Billie, watching her work her magic, and wondered if Billie could feel her trembling.
When Billie stood up, their eyes locked again. Before Debra had time to think, she said, “It was me, wasn’t it?”
Billie frowned. “I’m sorry?”
“Those things you said to me, about seeing myself and being enough…” Debra scoffed and shook her head. “It’s all lies, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s not, and you didn’t expect someone like me to walk through your door. You thought I was like the others.”
Billie’s jaw clenched. “No, it’s not lies.”
“Mm.”
The silence that followed made Debra’s heart ache. Billie looked down for a moment, then back up, her eyes softer as she said, “I don’t tell women what they want to hear for the sake of it, Debra. I tell them what they need to believe about themselves. Sometimes that’s the same thing. Sometimes it isn’t.”
“And me?”
Billie paused. “You werenothinglike the others.”
“I understand perfectly.” Debra turned back to the mirror and gave herself the once-over. “You expect women who just want to get off and have a little fun. Women who want some sordid affair while their husbands are making money in their fancy offices throughout London. But then I walked in…complicated and messy, and you realised you didn’t want to handle that.”
“That’s not true.” Billie’s hands slipped behind her back, her posture hinting at her trying to hold it together. “But this isn’t the kind of thing you need. You’re nothing like the women who come here. This…the way we’re working right now…it’s safer that way.”
“For you?”
“For both of us.”
Debra let out a shaky laugh. “You make women feel seen, and then you pull away the second they start believing you.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry.”
“Maybe not, but you did.” With emotion lodged in her throat, Debra cast her gaze to the floor and sighed. “Can I change now please?”
“Of course.” Billie lifted a hand and stepped back. “The suit fits you well. You can collect it next week after some final adjustments.”
Debra studied Billie’s face. The stillness and the restraint…the faint tremor in her throat. The cracks were still there, but she couldn’t tell if it was guilt this time around.
“Thank you,” she said finally, unable to trust herself with anything more dangerous.
Billie nodded once. “You’re welcome.”
As Billie pulled the curtain back, about to step out, Debra watched her through the mirror. “You know, you make it veryhard to forget you. Perhaps you should remember that the next time you take what you want from someone in here and then treat them as nothing more than a customer the next time they walk in.”
